N'Kala, the White Witch
Full Name: Unknown Race: Formerly Human; currently uncertain Age: Unknown Eyes: Not visible Hair: Formerly Blonde; currently none Height: 6' 4" Weight: 177 lbs Innate Element: None known Preferred Weapons: Unknown Instantly recognizable due to her horrifying appearance, N'Kala, the White Witch, is Nalaar's closest ally and confidante in the Cirque la Tuerie. Her obsession with her fiendish patron is no secret, nor is the extent she was willing to go for his sake. Initially a (supposedly beautiful) human woman, with a long-seated hatred of the De Midian government, she was taken - and altered - by Nalaar into what she is now, flayed alive and modified with alchemy into her current state - which is believed to be undead. Organic plating, rather like porcelain in appearance, clads her entire body, with an extravagant white garb made from what appears to be silk. Both are stained crimson from blood - both her own, and that of her enemies. Whatever her original loyalties were, they have been partly subverted by her dedication to her beloved, with N'Kala seeming driven, even rapturous by her work with her patron. N'Kala uses an ancient, forbidden breed of necromancy that enables her to control and manipulate blood. At N'Kala's command, blood obeys - she can staunch injuries, prevent a target's blood from clotting, control bodies outright, and even teleport via the injuries of her opponents. Her most powerful spells enable her to explosively cause an opponent's blood to try to escape their bodies, inflicting terrible damage, or worsening their injuries via hydrostatic pressure. With few real ways to counter such magic, N'Kala's seen as one of the greatest threats the group has faced, as well as one of the most terrifying. N'Kala serves Nalaar without question, and carries herself with the grace and poise of her master's favored envoy, often speaking dire portents and how her enemies are as nothing. She takes great pride in terrorizing and tormenting her master's enemies, often talking to them with mocking, belittling tones. She is opposed, logically, by most of the protagonists, but despises Marcel Gilneas, Freesia Barette, and Liliath Anagazzner due to them being represenative of the province that once exiled her and her sisters. She has a searing, uncontrolled hatred of Ivianna Canciaris, seeing the half-fiend as a rival for her master's affections, despite the fact that Ivianna would love nothing more than to see Nalaar destroyed outrght. N'Kala is distrusted by both Ramuhka and Lorosk, indicating some minor infighting within Nalaar's ranks. Due to her involvement in attacks on her brood, the DC Arachne commander Skarr has been actively hunting for N'Kala, as has Nightwatch. Abilities As stated earlier, N'kala's skills with Sanguimancy are quite dangerous, lacking a direct counter unlike most breeds of necromancy. Most Holy Spells cannot undo it, as it does not rely upon profane spells like normal necromancy, and most modern protective charms are bypassed as she directly controls the blood itself. A few of N'kala's spells are blocked by sacred wards and magic circles - she cannot control a target bodily, nor can she co-opt direct control of a target's blood whilst so protected - but such protections will do nothing to protect them from many of N'kala's offensive spells. That being said, fighting against a Sanguimancer like N'Kala is not an entirely lost cause: injecting Holy Water into one's self, while dangerous, allows some level of resistance to her control. Anti-Coagulants are also effective if used upon N'kala herself, as it prevents her from forming her usual blood blades. Use of Styptic has been known to negate the effects of some of her attacks, but this is, at best stopgap. Perhaps the best defense against N'kala's sorceries are ready access to items like Snowfly Draughts and Dispelling scrolls, but this will only stop ongoing effects and not provide any additional defenses beyond this. N'kala's spells are as deadly as they are utilitarian. She can stop wounds from bleeding, restore vitality, or mend broken tissue through her blood magicks. She can, with equal ease, cause a target's blood to violently explode from their body and slither to unholy life, cause blood to harden and tear at a subject's organs within a man's veins, or reverse the flow of blood in the body to force a target into cardiac arrest. N'kala's control of blood is amplified by her own mastery of more conventional magic and necromancy; she is just as capable of manipulating the partly-organic surfaces of her own body to cause showers of sharpened bone fragments to pierce her foes or harden her hands into steel-hard, razor sharp talons. Her most feared ability by far is the ability to control the body of a victim, siezing control of the subject's blood to control their limbs. This gives N'kala no control over their abilities, but does allow her a decisive advantage on the battlefield. Listed below are the few attacks the group has seen from her. Sanguine Edge: ''Using her own blood or the blood of fallen enemies, N'kala manipulates them in such a way to use it as a cutting weapon. Often, she uses this skill to form actual blades of blood and clash with her foes. The blades are apparently dense enough to even slice through modern day armor. ''Bloody Puppeteer: One of N'kala's more dangerous skills, especially since it lacks a proper counter save for an injection of holy water. Manipulating the very blood within a target, N'kala can control the movements of a person through their very veins. Forcing muscles to contract and relax, she moves her targets about like a puppeteer would his puppets. ''Marrow Shards: ''A commonly used defensive measure, N'kala compresses blood below certain parts of her porcelain armor before explosively expanding it, shattering parts of the armor into shards like a fragmentation grenade. ''White Witch's Fury: ''Pressurizing the blood within a target (or several targets) N'kala causes her foes very bodies to rupture in an explosive fashion. This is N'kala's most draining technique, and she often only uses it as a last resort. History Once, there was a girl whom could bend the very lifeblood of living beings to her whim. A girl whom lived with her six sisters, all of whom could control blood as if they were puppet masters, manipulating the blood of thier own bodies as well as the blood of others. This power, Sanguimancy, was a dark subset of Necromancy, thought to be lost to time and age, one that was rightfully buried for many years. For those whom had power over the very lifeblood of living creatures had control over life itself, and such power was dangerous in the hands of humanity. Yet, the young girl felt no desire for control at first, and neither did her sisters. Though they were ostrasized and cast out of their town in fear, they did not hate those that feared them, but pitied them for their lack of insight and understanding. Though feared and hated, the sisters often used their powers to help others; using their control over blood to staunch otherwise lethal wounds, extract poison from the bloodstream, and even painlessly ending the suffering of those whom could not last. Even when their home was ransacked one day by a mob, they still helped those in need... But the young girl felt different from her sisters; though she learned to use her powers to heal like her sisters did, the constant cruelty she and her sisters suffered weighed heavily upon her mind. No matter how many people they healed, they were still hated for practicing such a power. The endless bile would boil over into her mind, poisoning her thoughts... so in secret, as she grew older, she began to practice the darker half of her skills. Soon, blood bended to her very whim with even greater control than before; she could make the rats in her home dance like puppets, turn her very own blood into sharp blades, and even stop one's heart.